Intravenous bottle trolley and track



March 21, 1967 H, BRYAN INTRAVENOUS BOTTLE TROLLEY AND TRACK Filed Sept. 29, 1964 22 Fig.

Jae H. Bryan I N VEN TOR.

United States Patent 3,310,003 INTRAVENOUS BOTTLE TROLLEY AND TRACK Joe H. Bryan, 765 Avalon Road, Jackson, Miss. 39206 Filed Sept. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 400,151 Claims. (Cl. 10494) The present invention relates to ways and means through the medium of which an inverted gravity feeding intravenous-type bottle is operatively supported when in a patient injecting position proximal to a bed and has to do, more particularly, with an advance in the art, more particularly, a ceiling attached track, trolley means carried by said track, and novel hanger means suspended from the trolley means.

Briefly the improved concept is characterized by a horizontal ceiling-mounted channel-type track which is suported on the ward or equivalent ceiling over the patients bed. The side walls of the channel are provided with turned in flanges which constitute tracks. The mobile trolley means is characterized by a blocklike carriage having rollers or wheels movable freely back and forth on the tracks. The hanger means is hung from and constitutes a part of the trolley means and serves to accommodate a link which in turn carries a suitable yoke and clamp arrangement for the inverted drip-controlled intravenous fluid bottle.

Novelty is predicated on a simple, feasible and practical block-like body which provides the principal part of the trolley means and which is novel in that it, in turn, is provided with a spring-biased friction brake shoe, more particularly, a T-shaped member or bolt wherein the stem has an eye to permit the eye of the hanger link to be connected thereto.

Novelty is also predicated on the spring-biased mounting of the T-shaped member or brake shoe plus the means for flexibly linking the bottle clamp and yoke to said member.

Construed from another point of view the herein disclosed concept is characterized by a rollable carriage, a supporting and guiding track therefor, spring-biased friction braking and retaining means suported by and on the carriage and suitable flexibly adaptable or suspension means such in construction that the shiftable bottle may be securely applied and held in a given position by the nurse or duly appointed assistant or attendant.

These together with other objects and advantages which wil become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view showing, somewhat diagrammatically, a hospital bed, the horizontal track-equipped rail supponted on the ceiling thereabove, hanger means supporting an intravenous fluid bottle, and, in phantom lines, the bottle shifting trolley means.

FIGURE 2 is a view of a fragmentary type with par-ts in section and parts in elevation showing the rail or track, the carriage part of the trolley means, the spring-loaded friction brake and portions of the hanger means.

FIGURE 3 is a view at right angles with parts in section and elevation taken on the plane of the section line 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a view in perspective of the principal or component parts of the ready-to-use trolley means.

With reference now to FIG. 1, the numeral 6 designates a hospital bed located in a patients ward or other locale of a corresponding nature in a hospital. The bed is shown purely diagrammatically. The intravenous fluid containing bottle (for intravenous feedings, blood transfusions and the like) is denoted by the numeral 8 and is of conventional form and has the usual depending injection line 10. This bottle is supported or suspended by hanger means 12 including a link of suitable length as denoted at 14 connected to a yoke 16 at its lower end, said yoke carrying a clamp or equivalent bottle embracing and supporting means 18. The link is provided at an upper end with an attaching and hinging eye 20 which serves in a manner to be more specifically hereinafter described.

The trolley means is denoted generally by the numeral 22 in FIG. 4. The rail, which is attached horizontally to the ceiling of the room is denoted generally by the numeral 24. The rail is suitably supported. It comprises an elongated channel having a web 26 (FIG. 3) with depending spaced parallel side walls 28 which are in turn provided with turned in coplanar horizontal flanges 30 which constitute appropriate tracks.

As will be evident from FIGS. 2 and 3 in particular, the trolley means 22 is housed and guidingly mobile within the confines of the housing portion of the rail or track.

The trolley means 22 is primarily a simple and expedient roller-equipped carriage, more particularly, an elongated generally rectangular block-like body 32 of a cross-section to fit in the housing space in the manner shown in FIG. 3. This body is provided at forward and rearward end portions with transversely disposed suitably fixed axles 34 whose projecting ends are provided with freely turnable wheels or rollers 36 which are mounted on and s-hiftable back and forth on the tracks 30. The upper median portion of the block is provided with a counter bore providing a socket 39 which is registrable with a vertical bore 40 in which the stem portion 42 of a T-shaped unit or member 44 is slidingly mounted. This T-shaped member, more specifically, includes not only a bolt-like stem which has an eye 46 at the lower end but a flat rectangular plate-like head 48 at the upper end which is shiftable along the interior or underneath surface of the web 26 and constitutes a friction shoe. A coil spring 50 encircles the upper end of the bolt or stem, bears at an upper end against the shoe and has its lower end seated in the socket or counterbore 39. It follows that the roller-equipped carriage is provided with a T-shaped spring-loaded bolt which provides a friction brake shoe and also means for coupling of the eye 20 of the link 14 to the trolley unit or means.

Reference to the general structural arrangement and mode of use is believed to be generally evident by reference to FIG. 1 which shows the track means or rail 24 attached to the ceiling of the hospital room, ward or similar area and arranged above the hospital bed 6. The bottle 8 which is conventional and includes the customary gravity valved or clip equipped tube and injection needle (not shown) is attached to and suspended from the track by the improved trolley means of FIG. 4 plus the hanger or suspension means 12; namely the link 14 with eye 20 attached to the eye 46 and hingedly joined to the yoke 16 carrying the clamp means 18. It can be readily understood therefore that by exerting a downward pull -on the T-sha-ped member or stem 42, simply by putting one finger in the ring or eye 20, the trolley means is free to be moved and shifted by the nurse or other duly appointed attendant. It is evident therefore that the trolley means and hanger means thereon can be shifted from place to place (which is believed to be advantageous over the present prevailing practice) wherein the bottle is hung from a support arm on the vertical standard of a portable so-carlled IV stand.

It is believed that a careful consideration of the specification in conjunction with the views of the drawings will enable the reader to obtain a clear understanding of a the subject matter of the invention. Accordingly, a more extended description is regarded as unnecessary.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination, an inverted intravenous bottle, clamp means embracing and carried by said bottle, a yoke operatively joined to and supporting said clamp means, a link connected at a lower end to said yoke, said link adapted when in use to assume a generally vertical self-adjusting bottle suspending position and having an eye at an upper end, track means comprising a hollow rail channel-shaped in transverse cross-section and embodying a stationary horizontally elongated web having depending spaced parallel channel walls having turnedin coplanar companion flanges coacting and providing tracks, said flanges having spaced apart edges defining and providing an intervening trackway, trolley means embodying an elongated block-like body located in the hollow channel portion of said rail and supportd on said flanges and shiftable back and forth at will, a brake unit embodying a spring-biased brake shoe operatively cooperable with said web, said brake shoe provided with a depending stem operatively joined to said body and projecting downwardly through and beyond the track'way and terminating in an eye with which the eye on said link is hingedly connected.

2. For use in the channel of a channel-shaped ceiling attached hospital room track; an intravenous bottle suspending trolley comprising, a horizontally elongated block-like body of a size and shape to fit and operate back and forth at will within said channel, said body having forward and rearward corner portions provided with free turnable supporting and guiding rollers, the median portion of said body having a vertical bore opening through top and bottom surfaces, the upper end portion of said bore being counterbored and providing an upwardly opening socket, a T-shaped unit embodying (1) a stem passing slidingly and rotatingly downwardly through said bore and terminating in an eye carrying an intravenous bottle clamp suspending link and (2) a platelike head fixed atop said stem and constituting and defining a friction-type brake shoe, and a suitably tensioned coil spring encircling an upper end of said stem with its upper end bearing yieldingly against said shoe and its lower end nested and retained in said socket.

3. For installation and use in a ward or a room for hospitalized atients, a relatively stationary over-a-bed track comprising, a horizontally elongated channel iron embodying a web having depending side walls provided at lower edges with lateral turned-in coplanar flanges and defining spaced parallel tracks and an intervening slot providing a trackway, trolley means comprising an elongated block of a transverse cross-sectional dimension slightly less than the width of said slot and confined in the enclosing channel portion of said track with its bottom side above the plane of said track flanges, said block having lower corner portions provided with outstanding free turning rollers permitting said block to ride and trolley back and forth supported by said flanges, means for supporting an intravenous bottle, said means embodying a clamp adapted to be clamped in position around an inverted bottle, a yoke operatively joined to said clamp, a link hingedly joined to said yoke, and a spring-biased unit embodying a brake shoe in said channel frictionally engaging the underneath side of said web and also embodying a depending stem carried by a median portion of said block and depending through said slot and having a lower end operatively joined to a coacting upper end of said link.

4. The structure defined in and according to claim 3, and wherein said unit is substantially T-shaped in appearance, the upper end of the T-unit comprising a fiat-faced plate-like head defining and providing said brake shoe, the stem of said unit passing downwardly through a vertical bore provided therefor in said block.

5. The structure defined in and according to claim 3, and wherein said block is elongated and rectangular in form, said block having a median portion provided with a vertical bore, said unit being substantially T-shaped and embodying a horizontal plate-like head providing the aforementioned brake shoe, said stem depending vertically from a central portion of said head and extending vertically downwardly through said bore.

References Cited by the Applicant UNITED STATES PATENTS 531,151 12/1894 Brodie lO4108 1,030,744 6/1912 Neumann 248102 2,256,657 9/1941 Swabacker l28214 2,834,435 5/1958 Vanderback 188-42 EUGENE G. BOTZ, Primary Examiner.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Examiner.

J. E. BABER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION, AN INVERTED INTRAVENOUS BOTTLE, CLAMP MEANS EMBRACING AND CARRIED BY SAID BOTTLE, A YOKE OPERATIVELY JOINED TO AND SUPPORTING SAID CLAMP MEANS, A LINK CONNECTED AT A LOWER END TO SAID YOKE, SAID LINK ADAPTED WHEN IN USE TO ASSUME A GENERALLY VERTICAL SELF-ADJUSTING BOTTLE SUSPENDING POSITION AND HAVING AN EYE AT AN UPPER END, TRACK MEANS COMPRISING A HOLLOW RAIL CHANNEL-SHAPED IN TRANSVERSE CROSS-SECTION AND EMBODYING A STATIONARY HORIZONTALLY ELONGATED WEB HAVING DEPENDING SPACED PARALLEL CHANNEL WALLS HAVING TURNEDIN COPLANAR COMPANION FLANGES COACTING AND PROVIDING TRACKS, SAID FLANGES HAVING SPACED APART EDGES DEFINING AND PROVIDING AN INTERVENING TRACKWAY, TROLLEY MEANS EMBODYING AN ELONGATED BLOCK-LIKE BODY LOCATED IN THE HOLLOW CHANNEL PORTION OF SAID RAIL AND SUPPORTED ON SAID FLANGES AND SHIFTABLE BACK AND FORTH AT WILL, A BRAKE UNIT EMBODYING A SPRING-BIASED BRAKE SHOE OPERATIVELY COOPERABLE WITH SAID WEB, SAID BRAKE SHOE PROVIDED WITH A DEPENDING STEM OPERATIVELY JOINED TO SAID BODY AND PROJECTING DOWNWARDLY THROUGH AND BEYOND THE TRACKWAY AND TERMINATING IN AN EYE WITH WHICH THE EYE ON SAID LINK IS HINGEDLY CONNECTED 